Welcome to the 26th, and final, share of the Pitchfork & Crow 2022 Summer CSA! Here’s what’s in the share this week:

• Rosalba Radicchio – Great for robust salads with punchy dressings and nuts and strong cheese. Holds up to a little warming too. We’ll eat it with oven baked salmon, rice, and creamy dressing for a quick dinner. Soaking in ice water can help reduce the bitterness if needed. Click here for some tips if you think radicchio and chicories bring too much bitter to the table.
• Curly Kale
• Red Brussels Sprouts – Pop the sprouts off the stalk and enjoy them in your favorite recipes. We usually just cut the sprouts in half, toss with a little oil/salt/pepper, and roast at 400 degrees for ~20 minutes. Don’t forget to check out the recipe index here on our website if you’re looking for suggestions.
• Sage
• Celeriac – A tasty root that lands somewhere on the vegetable continuum between potato and celery. It’s great in any dish you’d use potatoes and pairs well with them too. They’re difficult to peel, so we usually just square off the edges with a sharp knife for cubing.
• Huckleberry Gold Potatoes
• Sweet Potatoes – In an effort to prolong their storage life we’re giving these out unwashed. You may want to give them a soak pre-scrubbing. Enjoy!
• Carrots
• Red Bunching Onions
• Yellow & Red Onions
• Garlic
• Jalapeno Peppers
• Long Pie Pumpkin – Like an elongated pie pumpkin with smooth flesh and sweet/savory flavor; more pumpkin for your pie needs!
• Corn Flour – We grow a flint corn called Cascade Ruby Gold that grinds partially into flour and partially into polenta when milled. This week we’re sharing flour and last week we shared the polenta. You can use this flour in any recipe calling for corn flour or cornmeal. We like to use it for perfect cornbread.

Welcome to the final share of the 2022 Summer CSA season! We’ll see many of you in a few weeks for the start of the Winter CSA. We’re excited to see what the winter season has in store for us and hope you are too! For everyone else, we hope you have a fantastic winter! Keep an eye out for an email from us in early January as we gear up for the 2023 Summer CSA! Hopefully you’ll consider joining us for another round of local, seasonal, organic vegetables.

We’ve made it to the end of another CSA season. That makes 13 Summer CSA seasons in the books. Whew! Each year we look forward to wrapping up just ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, which makes an excellent time to reflect on how thankful we are for your continued support. Thanks for joining us for six months of seasonal vegetables. Thanks for showing up week after week. Thanks for choosing to eat local, organic vegetables this season. We’re consistently amazed that members are willing to sign-up and commit to our CSA and we’re thankful that you continue to do so. As I’ve said before, we couldn’t do this without you. Cheers to a thankful and tasty Thanksgiving!

Here are some quick season stats: This year each weekly share consisted of an average of 16.17lbs per week for 26 weeks. That’s 421 pounds of organic vegetables for each weekly share over the season. All combined that means Jeff and I grew and distributed approximately 48,362lbs of produce this season. Through our partnership with the Linn Benton Food Share, 10,514lbs of those organic vegetables went directly to the Lebanon Soup Kitchen and Lebanon food pantries.

Though the season got off to a rough start we were still able to distribute an average of just shy of one ton of vegetables each week during this past season. No wonder we’re ready for a rest.

We hope you’ve enjoyed this past season. We know the CSA can seem overwhelming at times but hopefully you’ve found a rhythm to the season and had some fun in the kitchen along the way. Though we’re focused on growing and harvesting the best vegetables we can, we know the magic really happens in each of your kitchens as you prep and cook and eat them. Thanks for taking our vegetables on your kitchen adventures!

Have a happy Thanksgiving and enjoy the vegetables! We’ll see Winter CSA members on December 13th (Salem) & 14th (on-farm) for the beginning of the Winter season.

Your farmers,
Carri Heisler & Jeff Bramlett

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Here are a few recipes to get you inspired:

Carrot & Celeriac Salad

• 4-5 large carrots, peeled
• 1 medium celeriac, peeled (good luck with that! I always make a mess of mine.)
• 2-3 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley
• 2 lemons, juiced
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 1 pinch sea salt
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• freshly ground black pepper

Grate the carrot and the celeriac with a grater or in a food processor (which makes it so much easier!). Whisk together the lemon juice, honey and sea salt, then whisk in the olive oil to emulsify. Toss together the carrot, celeriac, parsley, and dressing. Adjust any of the seasonings to taste.

Serve, topping each serving with a nice grind of black pepper. C’est magnifique!

From Food52.com by FiveAndSpice, https://food52.com/recipes/9744-carrot-and-celeriac-salad

Chickpea, Pumpkin, & Sage Stew

• 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• 1 medium carrot, chopped
• ¹/₂ medium yellow onion, chopped
• 1 small bunch sage leaves (6 to 8)
• one 15-ounce can chickpeas
• one 15-ounce can pure pumpkin purée (or make your own using your long pie pumpkin)
• 1 quart chicken broth, store-bought or homemade
• 1 ¹/₂ cups ditalini, tubetti, or other small pasta like orzo

Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add carrot, onion, and sage and cook, stirring occasionally, until carrot and onion are crisp and tender and sage is beginning to brown, about 5 minutes.

Stir in chickpeas, pumpkin purée, and broth; bring to a boil. Add pasta and quickly simmer until pasta is al dente and soup has thickened, about 8 minutes. Divide soup among serving bowls and drizzle with oil before serving.

From Food52.com by Caroline Wright, https://food52.com/recipes/31064-chickpea-pumpkin-and-sage-stew

Spiced Peanut Sweet Potato Salad, From Deliciously Ella

• 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 handful of parsley, chopped
• 45 grams dates, pitted and chopped
• 1 tablespoon (heaped) black sesame seeds (white sesame seeds also work—you’ll just need to toast them)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 handful of peanuts, chopped and toasted, for serving (optional)
• 1 handful chopped radicchio/chicory for serving (optional)
• For the Dressing
• 2 tablespoons date syrup or maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons smooth peanut butter
• 1 lemon, juiced (you’ll use the juice)

Preheat the oven to 240°C (464°F, fan 220°C) .

Place the sweet potatoes in a large baking tray and drizzle with the olive oil, add the spices and some salt and pepper and mix well, ensuring everything gets coated. Bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes, until they’re really soft.

While the sweet potatoes are cooking, make the dressing, whisking everything with some salt until smooth.

Next, place the parsley and dates in a large bowl with the sesame seeds. Once the sweet potatoes are cooked, add them to the bowl with the dressing and mix everything together. Sprinkle with toasted peanuts, if using, serve and enjoy.

From Food52.com by Ella Quittner, https://food52.com/recipes/80942-spiced-peanut-sweet-potato-salad-from-deliciously-ella